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Languages in Scotland
Languages in Scotland
English and Scottish Gaelic are the languages of Scotland. English (sometimes spoken with a varying degree of Scots) is the everyday language spoken by all. Dialects vary enormously from region to region, and even between towns! However, all Scots can speak standard English.
Scots ('Oor ain leid', literally 'Our own language'), although not an official language of Scotland, is spoken by around 1.5 million people in Scotland, throughout the whole country except for the northeast corner. As with modern English, the language evolved from Anglo-Saxon. Scots is more or less intelligible to native speakers of English, especially in written form. There are debates over whether Scots is in fact a language or a dialect (in some ways it resembles Old English) and rather than actually being spoken purely, it is often found influencing informal English spoken by people in Scotland. It is also found on the north coast of Northern Ireland.
Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig, pron. Gah-lig), meanwhile, is spoken by only around 60,000 people, mainly in the Highlands (a' Ghàidhealtachd, pron. a Gale-tach)) and the Western Isles (Na h-Eileanan Siar, pron. Na hyale-inan shar) (e.g Barra, where 80% speak Gaelic). You will more than likely hear locals speaking in Gaelic in the Western Isles and on the ferries to and from them. Signs on board some CalMac ferries to the Western Isles are in Gaelic first and English second. In addition, announcements on some ferries may be at least partially in Gaelic. Everyone, however, speaks English.
The Scots generally have rather poor foreign language skills, although those in tourism-related industries generally have better language skills. French, German and Spanish are the most commonly known foreign languages.
Here are some useful English words derived from Gaelic, Pictish or Old Norse:
Aber = river mouth (Aberdeen)
Ben = mountain (Ben Nevis)
Burn = stream (Bannockburn)
Dun (or Dum) - fort (Dundee or Dumbarton)
Cèilidh = informal celebration, party (pr. KAY-lay)
Firth = estuary (Firth of Forth)
Glen = valley (Glencoe)
Strath = vale (Strathspey)
Kyle = narrow strait of water, sound (Kyle of Lochalsh)
Loch = lake (Loch Ness), also fjord (Loch Linnhe) - thus not all lochs are lakes
Lochan = small lake, pond
Here are some Gaelic phrases often found in the Highlands and the Western Isles:
Failte gu ...... = Welcome to ......
Deas = South
Tuath = North
Aiseag = Ferry
Traigh = Beach
Port Athar = Airport
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Scotland
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Scotland Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.